England speedster Jofra Archer hasn’t been named in the defending champions’ provisional 15-man squad for the ODI World Cup in India later this year. However, he is optimistic about returning to the field soon after battling another injury.
Archer seemed to be on track to getting to the World Cup when he made his international comeback at the beginning of 2023. However, an elbow injury during the 2023 Indian Premier League meant that he had to withdraw from the tournament and was soon ruled out of the whole English Summer.
Speaking on BBC Sport, Jofra Archer claimed that he was still trying to be positive and hope for the best. He said:
“I am alright. I feel a bit hopeful as well, but right now I am okay with things going as per plan. You just need a little bit of luck and little bit of hope.”
England chief selector on Jofra Archer’s omission
England’s chief selector Luke Wright announced the ODI squad for the New Zealand series and also hinted that it could be the same that travels to India for the ODI World Cup. He explained why Jofra Archer wasn’t considered a part of the 15 and also spoke about the best-case scenario for the speedster’s comeback.
On this, Wright stated:
“We know how desperate we all are to have him – there’s no doubt about that – but we’ve also got to get it right for him. He’s been very unfortunate with these injuries.. regarding the World Cup, unfortunately, we’re just running out of time. Best-case scenario for Jof really at the moment would probably be [that he is] available for the back-end of the tournament.”
England’s provisional 2023 ODI World Cup squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.